Third quarter touchdown puts Dartmouth over FHS on Thanksgiving Day

DARTMOUTH — A third quarter touchdown by Dalton Soares from two yards out was the difference between victory and defeat in Dartmouth High School's 14-7 win over Fairhaven on Thanksgiving Day.

Soares, a junior, had replaced sophomore Matt Beauparland as quarterback after the starter sustained a shoulder injury on the Indians' third possession of the first quarter.

The game's Most Valuable Player, running back Mitch Loranger, had scored Dartmouth's first touchdown on a run of 71 yards with only 31 seconds left in the first half. Both coaches felt that was a key turning point in the game.

"I thought we dominated that first half," said Fairhaven Coach Rudy Bulgar. "That touchdown before the end of the half was a big play. That kid (Loranger) is a work horse, and he broke some tackles to get clear."

Dartmouth Coach Rick White also saw the play as the momentum breaker.

"The end of the first half, when we came back with a touchdown to tie it at the break, was crucial — and then when we started the second half by getting them three and out and then get a score for us, proved to be the game winner," Coach White said.

Fairhaven's lone score came with 2:59 left in the first quarter, when last year's game MVP Billy Pires broke several tackles and ran 53 yards for a score. He followed that up with the extra point kick to give the Blue Devils a 7-0 lead.

The game was marked by some penalties at key times, particularly on Fairhaven, which found itself with several long yardage plays.

"Having them operating with third and long or second and long, made it better for us," said Coach White.

The game started with a Dartmouth possession that took the ball all the way to the Fairhaven five yard line after the opening onside kick was recovered by Loranger on the 50 yard line. Beauparland carried twice to the 44, and then Loranger went seven more to the 37 for a first down. Connor Tavares then swept around end and raced to the eight yard line for another first down.

The Fairhaven defense stiffened and Soares attempted a field goal that missed the mark.

During the play, Pires took the ball from the end zone to the 50; however, the play was called a touchback and the ball was brought back to the 20 yard line. After the Blue Devils went to the 37 they were stopped on a defensive play by Austin Williams and then an incomplete pass after pressure on the quarterback Christian Braga from Jacob Pereira.

Ryan Baldwin then had one of his several booming punts that put the ball on the 30, where a 20-yard run by Loranger was nullified by a holding penalty that put the ball back to the 20.

After getting the ball back to the 32, the Indians were forced to punt, and the kick by Soares was returned by Pires to the Fairhaven 47. The senior running back then broke several Dartmouth tackles and went into the end zone for the first score of the game, followed by his extra point kick to make it 7-0.

The first quarter ended with Dartmouth controlling the ball on a drive that started on their own 28 when Tavares jumped on a kick that was dribbling along the ground. A pass play from Beauparland to Nick Simonetti went for 24 yards to the Fairhaven 47, but on the play the quarterback was hit and injured his shoulder, taking him out for the remainder of the game.

Soares was brought in as quarterback and the Indians went to a run by Loranger, who took the ball for a first down to the 25. Tavares followed that with a run to the 25 for another first down, where a holding penalty brought the ball back to the 35.

The Indians were forced to punt the ball, touched by Mike Daly on the three yard line. The middle of the Dartmouth defense went to work with Pereira, Eddie Cadorette, Neil Toole and Joel Sodeinde all making big plays that gave Fairhaven only four yards on three plays.

Baldwin's leg got his team out of trouble as the punt from inside the end zone went over 50 yards, and Dartmouth had the ball on the Fairhaven 49. In three plays the Indians gained no yardage and the ensuing punt gave the Blue Devils the ball on their own 31 on a fine tackle by Tavares.

Coach Bulgar started mixing the look of his team as several different players took the snap from center, including Kobie Edwards, Billy Pires, and Jarrid Antil, in addition to quarterback Braga.

Fairhaven went down to the Dartmouth 12 yard line but along the way there were several good plays by the Dartmouth defense, including a sack by Cadorette, and stops by Simonetti and Tavares. A field goal attempt by Pires failed and Dartmouth took the ball on the 20 yard line with 2:01 showing in the first half.

Tavares went four yards and then Loranger five more as Dartmouth faced a third-and-one on the 29 yard line. Loranger got the call and broke some tackles, bursting into the open field along the sideline for the score. Soares followed with the point after kick that tied the game with 31 seconds left in the half.

Fairhaven managed to get the kick to the 38, but plays by Toole and Cadorette made sure they went no further than the 45 as the half ended.

The second half began with Fairhaven in possession starting from the 24, however Cadorette made a stop on Pires after a one-yard gain and then Sodeinde stopped Braga after another one-yard run. Baldwin was back punting the ball and it was another long kick with Williams returning it to the 50 yard line for the start of the winning drive.

The drive started poorly with an illegal procedure call pushing the ball back to the 45. Loranger got the five yards back with a carry to the 50 and then Tavares went three more yards to the 47.

Facing a third and seven call, Soares went to Simoinetti again with a pass that the junior receiver took to the 35 for a first down.

Tavares rushed for three and then Loranger for five more to put the ball on the 27. Tavares then carried seven more yards to the 20.

Dartmouth went to their workhorse again as Loranger carried 18 more yards to the two-yard line. Soares went over the goal line with 5:21 showing on the clock, then added the kick for a 14-7 lead.

The ensuing kick saw a nice stop by Jared Santos for Dartmouth on the Fairhaven 36. Pires ran for a first down to the 49, but Steve Smialek made a play on him that lost three yards to the 46. A long pass play then resulted in offensive pass interference and a 15 yard penalty putting the ball back to the 31.

Three plays later Pereira and Cadorette were in on a tackle that stopped the drive and forced another Baldwin punt.

The senior captain sent one high through the clear air to the 26 yard line, where Dartmouth started another time-consuming drive. Although it did not end with a score, the drive took valuable minutes off the clock as the third quarter ended.

From the 26, Soares carried for two yard and then Loranger for six more, before Tavares ran for four and a first down on the 38 yard line. Loranger then rushed for eight yards and Tavares for another one to the 47, where Loranger got the first down on a 14-yard rush to the Fairhaven 39.

A six yard loss, one yard gain and incomplete pass gave Dartmouth the ball back after Soares' punt went to the 20.

With 7:55 left in the game, Pires carried to the 29 and then Edwards went seven more to the 36. Edwards carried again for 13 yards to the Fairhaven 49. Pires went five more into Dartmouth territory on the 46, but a big loss followed went Jean Louis Alexander and Cadorette stopped Pires for a loss at the Fairhaven 40. Two plays later another punt followed.

With 3:44 left Loranger went 18 more yards to the Dartmouth 45 for a first down, but the Indians ran out of downs at the Fairhaven 47. Soares punted to the five yard line where three incomplete passes resulted in Baldwin having to kick the ball away.

Coach Bulgar second guessed himself after the passes, noting that he might have tried some running plays, considering there was still 2:36 left in the game when Fairhaven gained its final possession. Instead, the Indians held onto the ball and the clock ran out.

For Dartmouth, the win was some vindication for the loss at Fairhaven last year, when the Blue Devils came back from a 14-point deficit to win that game in the fourth quarter. This year, Fairhaven came in with a 7-2 record and Dartmouth at 2-7, but both coaches noted that you can throw out the records on Thanksgiving Day.

"If they had been in our league, they would have been undefeated," Coach Bulgar said about Dartmouth and the difficult schedule the Indians had. "I did not see them as underdogs here."

Coach White felt the same way. "There were no favorites coming into the game,;it was an even game," said Coach White. "He (coach Bulgar) does a good job there."

Coach White noted that there was some focus on what happened last year, when the Indians were given favorite status but lost to a determined Fairhaven team.

"Last year we turned the ball over; this time we did not given them anything," Coach White said. "I'm proud of the way our seniors played."